Linnaeus
named this genus (and the tuberosa species) in 1753. Aesculapius,
a legendary Greek physician, was the Greek God of Medicine.
Members of the genus Asclepias have been used medicinally for millennia and are sometimes used
in modern herbal teas.

Click for diagrams explaining the complex Milkweed flower structure. Scroll about 1/4 the way down the flower structure page. Very interesting.

The soft
green of this lovely plant is due to downy hairs that cover
the folded, twisted, and wavy-edged leaves, which are ovate lower on the plant and ovate-lanceolate above. Plants sprawl along the ground
with large, yellow flower clusters emerging from the ends of leaf stems. Flowers are in a starburst sphere typical of plants in
the Milkweed Family. Seeds are 10-14 millimeters long.

The very similar Asclepias involucrata has much less hairy leaves with lower leaves broader than the upper ones and very narrow leaves just below the inflorescence. Flower hoods are white to greenish white (but sometimes light yellow). Seeds are 6-8 millimeters long.

In 1893
Alice Eastwood named and described this species from plants she collected in 1892 along Court House Wash in what is now
Arches National Park. She named it "macrosperma" for its
large seeds.

"Eye-catching", "symmetrical",
and "bright orange" sum up this lovely plant. Asclepias tuberosa
is quite common in moist areas of the central and eastern United States,
but is uncommon in the west, occurring primarily in the Four Corners
states along roadsides and in washes. The plant is, in the words
of Intermountain Flora, "one of the most widely
dispersed..., as well as one of the most beautiful, wildflowers of
temperate North America.... Asclepias tuberosa is highly
variable in habit, foliage, and flower-color."

Linnaeus not only named this genus (as indicated at the top of this page) but he also named this species in 1753 from collections made in "Habitat in America boreali", i.e., in North America. "Boreali" is Greek for "north". "Tuberosa" refers to swellings on
the roots.

Species present in state and nativeSpecies present in state and exoticSpecies not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rareSpecies present and rareSpecies extirpated (historic)Species extinctSpecies noxiousSpecies exotic and presentNative species, but adventive in stateEradicatedQuestionable presence